1. Improving Data on Immigrant’s Legal Status Jennifer Van Hook

2. If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound?

3. Light is better than shadows “Only by ensuring that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda, making scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology, and including the public in our decision-making process will we harness the power of science to achieve our goals.” --Barack Obama, Sept. 4, 2012

4. Outline Limitations of data on unauthorized immigrants Methodological Advancements Applications: MPI Data Hub

5. Acknowledgements Collaborators: James Bachmeier, Randy Capps, Michael Fix, Donna Coffman, Ofer Harel Grants: P01 HD062498 “The Mexican Children of Immigrants Program Project” RC2 HD064497. “Generating Linked NCHS and OIS Data for Immigrant Health and Mortality Research ” Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

6. How we know what we know Residual Method Surveys

7. Residual Method Unauthorized FB = Total FB (Census) – Legal FB (Admin data)

9. 2 Million 3 Million 12 Million 11 Million Sources: Various reports by Passel, Woodrow, Bean, Van Hook, Hoefer, Rytina, Warren

10. Limitations Residual Method Produces Aggregated estimates only Surveys How honest are people about their legal status? Small sample sizes

11. Are unauthorized migrants captured in official surveys? YES But they are not fully covered…

13. Do people answer questions about legal status? Usually

14. Among all Foreign born: Missing on Migration Status: 4.3% Reported as Unauthorized: 26%

15. Do people tell the truth? Mostly

16. SIPP Hot deck SIPP logical imputati on PewDHS Mexico51.656.156.057.0 Other LA20.321.522.0 Asia17.712.413.0 Europe/Ca nada 6.17.56.0 Other4.32.53.0

17. New Methods for Using Survey Data Cross-survey multiple imputation Solves the small sample-size problem

18. Cross-survey multiple imputation Small Survey (SIPP) Unauthorized Status Common variables Big Survey (Census) ? Common variables Unauthorized Status (imputed)

19. MPI Data Hub MPI Data Hub